The Sweetest Things
by softydog88
Summary: Beckett is worried that her relationship with Castle won't survive this latest trauma, and she needs to find a deeper meaning behind it all. She needs to know he loves her. One-shot sex story, no pun intended.


_The Sweetest Things_

It was going to take Beckett a while to get over the trauma of the day. Sure, she and Castle had gotten out of close calls before-plenty of them, in fact-but this one felt different. It was really the first time that she had questioned her commitment to her job. She and Castle had nearly died tonight, and for what? To catch a two-bit thief, a stupid purse-snatcher that had gotten away with $23 and change. And because of it, Espo had barely survived a shot to the chest. When the same thing had happened to her, she came back with a renewed sense of purpose, determined to see this thing through to the end. But this creep had hurt her friend, and Beckett felt guilty about it. She had frozen as the thief turned and pointed his gun, and the bullet had whizzed past her cheek. She heard the impact of metal tearing into flesh and bone and the sound of Espo falling to the ground. She broke off the chase and started CPR while Castle called 911. And as Espo was taken away in the ambulance, Kate Beckett, that most professional of detectives, lost it at a crime scene. She buried her head in her hands and wept. She wept for Esposito, she wept for her mother, she wept for all the murder victims she had encountered doing the most revolting and yet necessary of jobs. And she wept for herself, because now she wasn't sure her relationship with Castle could endure this.

Castle tried to talk to Beckett, but she couldn't look him in the face. He called a cab and took her home, gently walking her to the bedroom. They sat on the edge of the bed and he swept her up in his arms, just holding her, not saying anything, letting her deal with the trauma in her own way. He heard her trying to catch her breath as she sobbed, and he tensed his body when she held him tighter and tighter. It was nearly an hour before she pulled her face away from his chest and looked into his eyes. She wiped away a few tears and brushed Castle's hair away from his face, then said, simply, "make love to me, Rick."

Right away, Beckett knew this time was different. They had made love countless times, and giggled in their simple, sexual pleasure, but this time she felt something more. It was a deeper connection, more tactile, more sensual than ever before. His kisses were softer, longer, less sloppy, as though he wasn't so desperate to finish and move on. Her nipples stiffened beneath his tongue, the nerves sending sensations sailing through her body, to predictable destinations. He continued to work his way down, his fingers probing between her legs, and she arched her back and let out a soft moan of contentment. He nuzzled her pubic hair, then slid his hands under her ass and lifted her up, diving into her wetness with his tongue.

It was after her second orgasm that Beckett turned the tables on him. She held him between her thighs and twisted to the left, flipping Castle onto his back. She climbed on top of him and forced his mouth open, tasting her own juices still dancing on his tongue. She reached down and found his manhood, to his delight. She began stroking, tugging, coaxing it to full attention. Then, when she was certain he couldn't delay the moment any longer, she pounced. Castle's eyes rolled back in his head at the warmth and wetness of her oral caress. He grabbed the sheets with either hand, grimacing in ecstasy, trying to keep from exploding. He opened his eyes and looked at Beckett. She was glowing in his mind, as though each strand of her hair was a fiber-optic line, each a different color, and they danced to the rhythm of her head bobs and sparkled in the darkness.

She slid onto her back and Castle entered her. He grasped her hands and she squeezed his as tightly as she could, as though in this gesture she was saying that she'd never let him go. She looked deeply into his eyes, probing for that emotional connection, and when she found it, it took her by surprise. Not because she hadn't expected to find it, but because she realized it had always been there, from the time she first realized she was in love with him. It was there in every word he whispered in her ear, every kiss they shared, every breath they took together. It was there in every cup of coffee, every elevator ride, every time he reached out and held her hand when she least expected it. It was there on every page of those Nikki Heat novels. And it was there when that love manifested itself physically, as was so abundantly clear tonight.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked him as they lay next to each other, naked, sweaty and spent.

"I was thinking about how when we left that crime scene, I was really worried about you. I've never seen you cry at a crime scene before. But now, I'm not worried any more. I know you're sick about Espo, but I also know that you're going to get back to work, doing what you do best, protecting and serving the people of New York. I've never been prouder of you, Kate. I could never do what you do. Not many people can."

Castle's phone rang, and he picked it up. "Uh huh," he said. "Yeah, she lost her phone at the crime scene, so she forwarded her calls to me. I don't know if that's a good idea, captain. She's pretty torn up over tonight. Oh. OK, I'll let her know. Thanks, captain."

"Don't tell me," said Beckett.

"Yep," said Castle. "You're up. It's another murder."

She smiled at him and took his hand. "You always say the sweetest things, Castle."


End file.
